Markets end ugly week in a funk
Weak demand for flash memory chips and Intel Corp.'s postponement of a new plant in Texas were enough to send the broader markets into a funk Friday, ending an ugly week on Wall Street.
Semiconductor and semiconductor-equipment stocks took the bulk of abuse as the NASDAQ closed down 20.33 points to 1650.92 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 132.36 points to close at 7715.41.
Things seemed fine in early trading after a rebound in the Hong Kong markets sent the broader American markets up temporarily. But by midday, the Dow was down more than 90 points and the NASDAQ had slipped more than 24 points.
UBS Securities cut its rating from "buy" to "hold" on semiconductor-equipment makers Applied Materials Inc., Lam Research Corp. and Novellus Systems Inc.
By the time the bell sounded, Applied Materials lost $3.73 per share to $33.27. Novellus slid $3 per share to $48.38 and Lam Research was off $1.56 per share to $37.44.
News that Intel was delaying its new plant in Texas due to sluggish demand for flash memory chips made investors skittish.
Intel closed down $1.81 per share to $80.06. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. lost $1.38 per share to $26.15 and Apple Computer Inc. was off $1.13 per share to $16.63.
Across all segments, the winners were few and far between.
Among networking issues, Cisco Systems Inc. lost $1.25 per share to $80.25. 3Com Corp. trimmed $1.13 per share to $45.81 and Ascend Communications Inc. dropped 88 cents per share to $33.
Computer makers were down after Gateway 2000 Inc. reported a third-quarter loss of 68 cents per share including charges, compared with a profit of 39 cents per share a year ago. Gateway fell 75 cents per share to $30.50, Dell Computer Corp. lost $1.88 per share to $93.94, Compaq Computer Corp. dropped $2.81 per share to $68.88 and IBM sank $2.56 per share to $97.88.
Amazon.com enjoyed a banner day after beating analysts' expectations in its third quarter. The online bookseller soared up $6.31 per share to $60.31.
Yahoo! Inc. shed $3 per share to $47.56 while Lycos Inc. lost $1.16 per share to $28.31.
Weak demand for flash memory chips also stung chip makers as Atmel Corp. lost $1.94 per share to $28.25 and Texas Instruments Inc. nose-dived $9.38 per share to $111.50. Micron Technology Inc. was off $1.75 per share to $30.